This thesis studies the imaging of interfaces using phase contrast x-ray imaging (PCXI) with a synchrotron source, in theory, practice and application. An emphasis on biological interfaces means that the focus is on single-exposure methods of imaging, as desired when imaging a live sample. Firstly, we look at modelling the formation of propagation-based phase contrast fringes from a curved interface, studying the validity of the projection approximation, often used in this process. The emphasis then moves to how such fringes may be best realised in a non-ideal imaging set-up, looking at the coherence provided by the synchrotron source, notably in the presence and absence of a spinning phase diffuser. The effect that the set-up and associated coherence will have on the visibility and detail of phase contrast fringes from an interface is considered. These findings are then related to the detection of subtle biological interfaces, progressing towards the application of phase contrast imaging to the observation of changes in airway health in response to new treatments for cystic fibrosis. The difficulty in resolving these subtle airway interfaces motivates the final section of work; a new single-exposure sensitive method of phase imaging for live samples using a reference grating. The first section of this work looks at a method of simulating the propagation of an x-ray wavefield through a sample and subsequently through free space in order to produce propagation- based phase contrast fringes. This approach uses the projection approximation to describe the effect of the sample on the incident wavefield, an approximation which does not describe the interference or diffraction of rays within the sample volume. It is seen, through comparison with experiment, that for a curved biological interface, diffraction within the sample volume becomes significant for propagation distances comparable to the sample volume dimension. Hence phase contrast fringes from a rounded interface (a good model for many biological interfaces) are underestimated for very short propagation distances. The intensity fringes seen from a curved edge are studied both in the complex Argand plane and through intensity profiles. At longer propagation distances, such as those typically used in biomedical imaging applications, where free-space propagation within the sample volume is a small percentage of the total propagation, the simulation model is found to match experiment. This assertion is verified when the simulation model is compared to an exact solution to the inhomogeneous Helmholtz equation, both in the Argand plane and through intensity profiles. It is also seen that this exact solution for a plane wave incident on a cylinder will simplify to the projection approximation at the centre of the cylinder, where diffraction effects are negligible. This work demonstrates the value of the projection approximation simulation model, which is sufficiently accurate for the propagation distances commonly utilised for phase contrast images, with computational overheads many orders of magnitude less than the exact solution. The effect of a limited transverse coherence width upon these ideal fringes is then considered. Transverse coherence measurements are taken at beamline 20XU of the SPring-8 synchrotron using a prism interferometer set-up. Measurements are taken at both the upstream and downstream hutches for three sizes of beam-defining aperture. More particularly, measurements are taken with and without a spinning diffuser, an apparatus used to create a more uniform field of incident x-rays and remove unwanted phase effects introduced by upstream optics. It is found that while the presence of a diffuser did not decrease the transverse coherence width, the observed magnitude of the complex degree of coherence is decreased. Computer simulations of the imaging set-up show this same decrease in interference fringe visibility from a diffused beam. The simulation model is then extended to look at the effect of a decreased degree of coherence, due to a diffuser, upon phase contrast fringes from an interface. The suppression of detail and visibility of the interface fringe in the presence of a diffuser is observed in both simulation and in experiment. However, both sets of results also show that simply moving the diffuser closer to the source is sufficient to significantly decrease this effect. This is one of several modifications made to the experimental set-up while aiming to resolve subtle airway interfaces in the application work. This application seeks to measure changes in the airway health in response to new treatments for cystic fibrosis, which are tested (and hence imaged) in mouse models of the disease. One such measure of health is the depth of the airway surface liquid (ASL), which lines the inside of the airways and enables inhaled debris to be cleared from the lungs. While the interface between the ASL and the air-filled inside of the airway produces a strong propagation-based PCXI fringe set, the interface between the ASL and surrounding tissue provides a much weaker phase gradient which is not so easily detected. We detail experimental and analytical methods for increasing the visibility of fringes from this interface and ways to extract information about the ASL depth. Finally, we describe and demonstrate a new single-exposure, large-grating method for detecting both high and low phase gradients. This is achieved by looking at the downstream distortion of a high visibility reference pattern that is incident upon the sample. The resulting quantitative phase maps from images of a phantom suggest this method may be of value in detecting the weak phase gradient at the ASL/tissue interface.


The paper considers a new device for measuring the output power of UHF therapy apparatuses with condenser and inductive applicators. The special feature of the device is that independent element calibration in the wanted frequency range may be used; other measuring instruments do not possess this property.


The Josephine Peridotite has experienced deformational episodes over a wide range of temperatures. Deformation within the stability field of a serpentine group mineral appears invariably accompanied by retrogressive metamorphism (serpentinization). Two general types of deformed serpentinites have been identified: (1) incohesive serpentinites (most common), which appear to have experienced low-temperature, predominantly brittle deformation and (2) serpentinite mylonites, which have experienced plastic flow near the upper limit of antigorite stability. The distinction between these two is based on textural and mineralogical criteria. Serpentinite mylonites are cohesive, homogeneously foliated, and typically strongly lineated rocks composed primarily of antigorite and magnetite. They occur in planar-bounded zones enclosed within the Josephine Peridotite that were the loci of both noncoaxial deformation and serpentinization. We discuss the development of two important shear-sense indicators, porphyroclast systems and oblique shear-band foliations as observed in these rocks. Porphyroclast systems in serpentinite mylonites are often comprised of cores and mantles of different mineralogy. Cores are usually composed of primary pyrogenetic minerals, whereas mantles, including tails, are composed of products of the serpentinization reaction. These systems are therefore termed "porphyroctasts with neocrystallization tails.". Oblique shear bands are common micro-structures in serpentinite mylonites. Shear bands which offset the mylonitic foliation along narrow, discrete fractures are termed "f-type," whereas those which offset the mylonitic foliation along narrow, ductile "micro-shear zones" are termed "d-type". The latter are considered more reliable for shear-sense determinations. Strains accomplished by movement on shear bands are probably small. Strain resulting from a volume increase dur-ing serpentinization while holding the shear-zone width constant is sufficient to produce the shear bands. Therefore, we suggest that oblique shear bands may develop to accom-modate volume increases associated with deformation.


An attack on deep learning systems where intelligent machines collaborate to solve problems could cause a node in the network to make a mistake on a critical judgment. At the same time, the security and privacy concerns of AI have galvanized the attention of experts from multiple disciplines. In this research, we successfully mounted adversarial attacks on a federated learning (FL) environment using three different datasets. The attacks leveraged generative adversarial networks (GANs) to affect the learning process and strive to reconstruct the private data of users by learning hidden features from shared local model parameters. The attack was target-oriented drawing data with distinct class distribution from the CIFAR-10, MNIST, and Fashion-MNIST respectively. Moreover, by measuring the Euclidean distance between the real data and the reconstructed adversarial samples, we evaluated the performance of the adversary in the learning processes in various scenarios. At last, we successfully reconstructed the real data of the victim from the shared global model parameters with all the applied datasets.


Sturgeons (Acipenseridae) are the most imperilled group of fishes globally. Yet, many species remain important targets of recreational anglers. In the Saint John River, New Brunswick, Shortnose Sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum is a popular species targeted by recreational anglers. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has placed Shortnose Sturgeon on the Red List as "Vulnerable," and therefore this species is afforded protection from harvest in Canada by the federal Species at Risk Act. Here, we evaluated physiological stress using two principal components axes, RC1 and RC2, generated from blood lactate, glucose, and pH, hematocrit, and reflex impairment of sturgeon exposed to exhaustive chase experiments at a hatchery and angled sturgeon that were captured during an annual fall competitive angling event. Physiological indicators of stress increased with holding time for Shortnose Sturgeon transferred into a tank and for sturgeon exposed to chase trials. Circulating metabolite concentrations were not associated with reflex impairment. The odds of reflex impairment increased as a function of air exposure, with a 1-min increase in air exposure increasing the odds of impairment by 1.78. All sturgeon survived hatchery experiments. Most of the wild Shortnose Sturgeon captured in the fishing derby (71%) exhibited reflex impairment, and 38% had superficial injuries such as cuts or wounds. None of these factors were associated with physiological disturbance, although ordinated stress physiology axes were elevated both 1 and 2 h after initial sampling, which was predictive by the holding time prior to weigh-in and measuring fish size. All fish were hooked in the mouth and each was released alive from the derby. Taken together the evidence suggests that Shortnose Sturgeon are resilient to recreational angling interactions, yet managers could use this information to improve best practices of catch-and-release angling.


Nuclear receptor SET-domain containing protein 1 (NSD1), Enhancer of Zeste, drosophila, Homolog 2 (EZH2) and DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) constitute an emerging family of epigenetic regulatory genes with a dual somatic/germline role in the pathogenesis of haematological malignancies and overgrowth disorders. NSD1, EZH2 and DNMT3A all encode components of the epigenetic arsenal and are involved in the regulation of transcription: both NSD1 and EZH2 are histone methyltransferases whilst DNMT3A is a DNA methyltransferase. The three overgrowth disorders caused by germline mutations of NSD1, EZH2 and DNMT3A, Sotos syndrome, Weaver syndrome and the DNMT3A overgrowth disorder, respectively, are all characterised by pre- and postnatal increased growth, a variable intellectual disability and a distinctive, syndrome-specific but often subtle facial appearance. However, despite the vast increase in knowledge over the last decade, there are still many questions about this new family of overgrowth genes that remain unanswered and further clinical and molecular studies are underway to try to address these.

Key Concepts:

NSD1, EZH2 and DNMT3A are all overgrowth genes with a dual somatic/germline role in the pathogenesis of haematological malignancies/overgrowth disorders.

NSD1, EZH2 and DNMT3A all have a role in the regulation of the epigenome.

Germline NSD1 gene abnormalities causes Sotos syndrome, germline EZH2 gene abnormalities cause Weaver syndrome and the DNMT3A overgrowth syndrome is caused by germline DNMT3A gene abnormalities.

Sotos syndrome, Weaver syndrome and the DNMT3A overgrowth syndrome are all characterised by postnatal overgrowth (height and/or head circumference at least two standard deviations above the mean); a variable learning disability and a distinctive, but often subtle, facial appearance.

Other overgrowth conditions which should be considered in the differential diagnosis of Sotos, Weaver and the DNMT3A overgrowth syndromes include the PTEN hamartoma tumours spectrum, Simpson–Golabi–Behmel syndrome, Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome and the overgrowth disorder associated with NFIX mutations.

Keywords:

overgrowth;
NSD1;
EZH2;
DNMT3A;
epigenetic;
DNA methyltransferase;
histone methyltransferase


Long-term care in the UK relies heavily on informal and unpaid carers. Statistical data regarding the number of carers in the 2001 Census compared with the 2011 Census identify an increase of around 600 000 carers. It is also significant that many of these carers are themselves in their late middle age. The reasons for taking on the caring role are varied, but there are significant potential physical, mental and financial issues associated with taking on the caring role. Positive benefits in terms of support provision for the carer do exist, but support services across the UK are variable. This article outlines the problems that may be faced by carers and provides directions for future developments and research into how this situation might be improved.


The method has similarities to the biomass age curve approach (Chazdon et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2017), but instead of using observed age curves, the random forest regression effectively uses climatological data to implicitly predict stand biomass growth curves, combining these with the biomass information to produce age. I.e. It assumes that growth and (non-stand-replacing) mortality rates can be estimated well by climatological variables alone. Given the importance of edaphic variables and management for determining these rates, I was a bit surprised not to see them included in the set of predictors. Whilst management is a tricky thing to assess globally, there are at least roughly related variables, e.g. human development index, which could have been tested. Possibly there is substantial autocorrelation of management with climate, which may help out here in terms of the accuracy of the classification, but then this would also potentially confound the current interpretation of climatic variables relating to Fig. 5. At the very least it would be good to see some discussion of the potential influence of management, if not testing the importance of some management and soil-related variables.


The accuracy location of hypocenter is needed to determine the subsurface character beneath a geothermal area. The study used 73 micro-earthquake events; each micro-earthquake event was classified based on the time difference between the P and S waves (ts-tp) that had values ≤ 3seconds, the magnitude of micro-earthquake ≤ 3SR and each micro-earthquake event was recorded at least by 3 observer stations. We inverted selected P and S travel times from 11-unit seismic stations on X geothermal area. The initial hypocenter location was determined using Geiger method. The result of the Geiger method's initial hypocenter location was then used as the input to determine the accurate hypocenter location in the following method, Coupled Velocity-Hypocenters method. Other parameters were also used on this second method, including hypocenter location, 1-D velocity model, origin time, vp/vs ratio, zshift and the station correction. The distribution of hypocenter locations of micro-earthquakes obtained using the second method was better than the results from Geiger method. This result is supported by the Coupled Velocity-Hypocenters average RMS error value, which was smaller, only 0.19 seconds, compared to the Geiger method, which had an average RMS error of 0.74 seconds. The hypocenter location of the relocation was more clustered in the reservoir area, precisely in the production well, and in the heat source area. The hypocenter location in the production well area indicates fluid flow through the fracture from the permeable zone.


Background: As natural herbs and medicinal plants extracts are widely used as alternative
treatments for different parasitic diseases, some have been tested on Cryptosporidium either in
vitro or in vivo. This study assessed the prophylactic and therapeutic treatments' effect of Moringa
oleifera (M. oleifera) leaves methanol extract on immunosuppressed-Cryptosporidium infected
mice.

The evaluation was carried out by Cryptosporidium oocysts count in fecal samples, histopathological
changes in the intestinal tissues, determination of IFN-γ level in mice sera and
measuring the antioxidant activity in the intestinal tissues.

 Prophylactic treatment by M. oleifera extract lowered Cryptosporidium oocysts shedding
from immunosuppressed-infected mice although there was no complete elimination of the parasite.
However, therapeutic treatment induced a significant reduction in Cryptosporidium oocysts counts
by 91.8% higher than that of the drug control (nitazoxanide) group (77.2%). Histopathologically,
the intestinal tissues from immunosuppressed-Cryptosporidium infected mice showed loss of brush
border with severe villous atrophy and extensive necrosis. M. oleifera prophylactic treatment induced
a moderate improvement of the pathological changes. However, the villi in M. oleifera therapeutic
treated mice retained their normal appearance with minimal inflammatory cells. It was observed
that M. oleifera extract induced a significant upregulation of IFN-γ in both prophylactic and
therapeutic treated groups compared to that of the infected untreated group. In addition, M. oleifera
leaves extract exhibited a significant antioxidant activity by reducing the levels of Nitric Oxide
(NO) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) and increasing Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) level in the intestinal
tissues compared to those of the infected and drug controls.

 M. oleifera leaves extract has potent prophylactic and therapeutic activities against
infection with Cryptosporidium.


To examine the anti-fungal activities of various extracts of the plant. Rhinacanthus nasutus (l).kurtz.Method: The anti-fungal activitywas studied by tube dilution method using SabouraudÂ's DextroseAgar (SDA) mediumand the results comparedwith standard Clotrimazole (125 µg/ml).All the extracts inhibited the growth of various fungi tested in all concentrations, (MIC:125 µg/ml), except for ethyl acetate extract the MIC was 250 µg/ml. The results of all extractswere comparable with that of the standard clotrimazole (125 µg/ml). Conclusion: The plant appears to be a ideal source for the active phyto-constituent responsible for anti-infective property and also for development of new phyto-medicine against various resistant organisms.


On the basis of considering the thermo-viscoelasticity of the epoxy matrix, the geometrically nonlinear finite element formulation is developed to simulate the moderate deflection bending of the shape memory alloy (SMA) hybrid beam upon actuation of SMA. It is found that the midpoint deflection of the epoxy beam increases with increasing temperature when temperature is lower than the austenite start temperature of SMA. Once the austenite start temperature of SMA is reached, the midpoint deflection of the epoxy beam is rapidly decreased to the initial state with the increasing of temperature. And then it increases slowly with increasing temperature after the austenite phase transformation of SMA is finished. The results based on the geometrically nonlinear finite element analysis are also compared with those from the geometrically linear finite element analysis, which shows that they agree well with each other when the bending deflection of the epoxy beam is small, while significant discrepancies occur between them when the deflection is considerably large.


Cricket is undoubtedly the elegant game, occupying a long-established and distinguished position in the annals of sporting history. Played by gentlemen the world over, the word cricket may derive from the Anglo-Saxon word cricc, meaning a staff or crutch - giving us a game played with a long wooden implement - and the first (reliable) mention dates back to Guildford in the 16th century. No-Balls and Googlies uncovers the origins of this captivating game, and explores its traditions, records, milestones and memorable moments through a fascinating array of facts and figures, anecdotes and curiosities. For example, did you know that the Hambledon Club of Hampshire, founded around 1767, is generally perceived as cricket's spiritual home? Or that British and Australian troops conducted their own Desert Ashes series in Iraq in 2005? Or perhaps an England XI's first overseas tour was to the United States? From the leg glance to leg before, king pair to cover drive, and from the no-ball to the googly, this book is sure to entertain, inform and delight.


OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical course and outcome of cryptococcal meningitis (CM) in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). METHOD: Patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and symptoms suggestive of meningitis were evaluated with detailed history, clinical examination and investigations. Diagnosis of CM was based on positive India ink preparation or positive fungal culture of CSF. All patients were treated with amphotericin those showing response were put on oral fluconazole. RESULT: A total of 431 patients with HIV infection were admitted to this centre during the study period, of these 15 were diagnosed to have CM. Majority of the patients had a subacute presentation with signs of meningeal irritation seen in only seven patients. India ink preparation and positive fungal culture on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) established diagnosis in all cases. All patients were treated with amphotericin B and fluconazole. Complete response was noticed in seven patients, two patients were lost to follow-up and six patients died during the course of therapy. Raised intracranial tension (ICT) and disseminated disease were associated with poor prognosis. CONCLUSION: CM is a common opportunistic fungal infection in patients with AIDS. A high index of clinical suspicion and routine mycological surveillance is required to diagnose this infection. Majority of patients respond to therapy except those who have disseminated infection, altered sensorium and features of raised ICT at presentation.


We study the structural properties of the indium phosphide nanorods of different thickness in zinc blende and wurtzite phases by performing classical molecular dynamics simulations using an inter-atomic potential. In addition to different temperatures, the nanorods are also investigated under strain and compression. When the stretch is applied, simulations reveal that the sequence of the irreversible structural transformation for the zinc blende nanorods is zinc blende → rock salt → wurtzite and the wurtzite nanorods follow the sequence of wurtzite → rock salt. After the wurtzite nanorods are compressed and stretched back, the thinner nanorods recover their initial non-deformed structure. Upon heating without stretching, the zinc blende nanorods undergo a transition from the zinc blende phase to the rock salt formation and the wurtzite phase is not observed, whereas the wurtzite nanorods transform from the wurtzite to the rock salt phases. For the wurtzite nanorods, a heating procedure is also carried out at a constant temperature to observe the annealing effect. The wurtzite nanorods are subjected to two approaches processes to observe if the transition processes are reversible: in the first process, the heated wurtzite nanorods are cooled down; in the second process, the cooled nanorods are put under strain. It has been observed that the transition is always irreversible for the nanorods once they are completely transformed into the rock salt phase whereas it is usually reversible for the nanorods before the complete transition into the rock salt phase has occurred. The reversible transition is also observed as the cooled nanorod is stretched back.


This research was concerned by students' low motivation on social studies. This research aims to determine the difference of the students' learning motivation taught using Quantum Teaching and conventional teaching model on social studies. This research applied quasi-experiment with nonequivalent control group design. The samples were taken with simple random sampling technique, with samples as many as 44 students. Analysis of data used t-test. The result showed that the students' motivation with Quantum Teaching were higher than conventional teaching model on social studies, where by using statistical test, the tvalue was 5,624 and ttable was 2,089 or knowable tvalue> ttable. It can be concluded that Quantum Teaching model has positive effect to improve students' learning motivation.


We study the fermionic extension of the E10/K(E10) coset model and its relation to eleven-dimensional supergravity. Finite-dimensional spinor representations of the compact subgroup K(E10) of E10(R) are studied and the supergravity equations are rewritten using the resulting algebraic variables. The canonical bosonic and fermionic constraints are also analysed in this way, and the compatibility of supersymmetry with local K(E10) is investigated. We find that all structures involving A9 levels l = 0, 1 and 2 nicely agree with expectations, and provide many non-trivial consistency checks of the existence of a supersymmetric extension of the E10/K(E10) coset model, as well as a new derivation of the 'bosonic dictionary' between supergravity and coset variables. However, there are also definite discrepancies in some terms involving level l = 3, which suggest the need for an extension of the model to infinite-dimensional faithful representations of the fermionic degrees of freedom.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of high-resolution sonography in identification and characterization of the size and echogenicity of the lateral ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow in cadavers and healthy volunteers.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
The lateral ulnar collateral ligaments of four cadaveric elbows were imaged with a high-resolution linear-array ultrasound transducer. On localization, the ligaments were injected with 0.1% methylene blue under sonographic guidance. For confirmation of identification of the ligaments, the elbows were immediately dissected to reveal the exact location of the stain. The ligaments of both elbows of 35 healthy adult volunteers were imaged.

RESULTS
Surgical dissection confirmed injection of methylene blue into all four cadaveric ligaments. The lateral ulnar collateral ligament was identified bilaterally over the radial head in all 35 volunteers. The mean thickness of the ligament at this point was 1.2 mm in women and men. The proximal attachment of the ligament to the humerus was well visualized bilaterally in 94.3% of volunteers. The mean thickness at this point was 1.7 mm in women and 1.6 mm in men. The distal attachment on the ulna was well visualized in 90% of elbows. The ligament was hyperechoic in relation to muscle in all volunteers. Differences in ligament measurements with regard to sex and hand dominance were not significant. Ligament thickness correlated weakly with volunteer weight, height, body mass index, and age.

CONCLUSION
High-resolution ultrasound imaging is accurate for identification and measurement of normal lateral ulnar collateral ligaments. Therefore, ultrasound may prove valuable in assessment of abnormal lateral ulnar collateral ligaments.


The beta coefficient is widely used in company valuation. According to the assumptions of the CAPM, thanks to the beta, you can set the cost of equity and thus the discount rate in income valuation models. Similarly, in the real estate market, if you want to valuate the property by income method, a discount rate should be known. This rate can be estimated by knowing the beta coefficient for property market. Unfortunately, the estimation of this coefficient is difficult, since there is no known index of such a broad market that would contain both industrial investments and all others, such as real estate investment. Therefore, the author decided to develop a method for calculating the beta in the housing market. This is the first step towards the development of the beta calculation methodology in the commercial real estate market.The aim the article is to estimate the beta coefficient for the residential property market in Poland. The author has set the hypothesis that the mean values of the beta coefficients calculated on the hedonic index on the secondary housing market are statistically significant equal to the average values of the beta coefficient for the WIG index, the broad Stock market Index on the Polish stock market. To verify the hypothesis and consequently achieve the goal of the work, the author used the data analysis followed by the use of one-way ANOVA.The development of a beta counting methodology is the original contributor's contribution to science. In the Polish market there is no adequate method and asset appraisers apply the beta directly taken from the stock market. In addition, this work is the first phase of research that will lead to the development of a methodology to calculate the beta coefficient in the commercial real estate market.


Inbreeding depression is a harmful phenomenon in livestock which is outcome of inbreeding. Inbreeding is consequence mating between two individuals who are more related to each other than average relatedness in population, which results in reducing in fitness of progenies and genetic variability in populations. Development of high-density genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array facilitated inbreeding measurement as molecular data through calculating autozygosity region in individual genome. Autozygosity refer to chromosomal fragments that are identical-by-descent (IBD) and can be measured using runs of homozygosity (ROH). ROH is therefore defined as contiguous homozygous regions of the genome where two haplotypes inherited from the parents are IBD. The length and frequency of ROH may describe the history and recent bottlenecks in population and also revealed signatures of positive selection in population. Inbreeding coefficient can be derived from ROH (FROH), which is defined as total lengths of all ROH divided by the total autosomal genome length. A lot of studies calculated inbreeding level as FROH in human, cattle, pig, sheep, chicken and other farm animals through SNP array. In most of them, accuracy and preciseness of FROH were confirmed in comparing to FPED, Some of them calculated inbreeding depression by using FROH and some other evaluated the relationship between ROH location with gene and quantitative trait locus (QTL) position on genome. These studies indicated that inbreeding levels in bovine and porcine populations are much higher than those in human populations. Even though most of researches concluded that FROHcan precisely calculated Inbreeding and it can be useful for estimating inbreeding coefficient in absent of pedigree, but some concern were exist in about of panel density, genotyping errors and undetected heterozygosity within continuous ROH which complicated identifying and quantifying ROH. In this review, run of homozygosity is defined and discussed in detail in human and livestock.


Different nations interact differently with problems based on their different traditional background, interest, as well as their different approaches. But there are issues which need common perspective and the same sense of responsibility in doing good things that concern all such as induced abortion. In this article the researcher analyzed induced abortion from an Islamic ethical point of view with a particular focus on when life right begins.


The main goal of this project was to create new game concepts for mobile and social games. The project was a continuation of the depth study performed by the project in the course TDT 4570, Game Technology, at NTNU. The focus of this project was slightly more shifted toward the social side of mobile multiplayer games compared to the depth study. Additionally the project group were to create a prototype game using one of the concepts implemented in Java ME. The project group performed a prestudy of the technologies required to create the prototype(such as Java ME and features specific to mobile phones, such as location), as well as looking at games from a general viewpoint, but also by looking more closely at mobile and social games, current game genres, and multiplayer games available on mobile platforms and looking at how these games implement social game mechanisms. Several concepts were conceived and described during the project, with concepts from both the depth study and concepts created specifically in this project. The textit{Platform-puzzler} concept was chosen to be implemented as the prototype game. The prototype game is a 2D side scrolling platform multiplayer platform game with puzzle elements. The game was implemented in a development process, and at the end of the process the game was tested by two testers not from the project group. The test allowed the project group to assess how it performed in a simulated setting using emulators, as well as testing to see how the cooperative elements of the game performed, and additionally the test was performed in two sessions were in the first session the two testers were located in the same room, whereas in the second test the were located in the same room. The test session performed on the prototype indicated to the project group that there for the prototype game there were quite clear differences between playing the game in the same versus playing the game in different rooms. This indicates further that special care must be taken when designing and creating cooperative games for mobile platforms. The additional research performed by the project group also indicate to the project group that creating mobile and social games for mobile platforms is highly viable, and that social gameplay mechanisms can strengthen the experience of playing games.


Countries under transition from war to peace or from an authoritarian to a democratic regime face fundamental political and social transformations and difficulties in emerging from a problematic past. The transition presents challenges but also opportunities for countries to reconsider their death penalty policies. It is in such a context that some countries abolish, retain or even actively resort to the death penalty to tackle transitional needs. Those who are working for abolition of the death penalty need to go beyond the human rights approach and take a more holistic approach to understand the fragile and complex local situation and needs in which the death penalty becomes a highly political issue.


Phase pure hexagonal β-NaGdF4:Eu3+,Er3+ samples of less than 10 nm in crystallite size were synthesized in anhydrous ethylene glycol within 24 hours at room temperature. The materials were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and luminescence spectroscopy. After Gd3+ excitation at 273 nm Eu3+ luminescence from the 5DJ states dominates over Gd3+ 6PJ emission and only weak Er3+ emissions could be observed due to strong Gd→Eu and weak Gd→Er energy transfer. Excitation at 377 nm results in Er3+ 2H9/2 and Eu3+ 5DJ emissions. The concentration dependence of the Er3+ and Eu3+ luminescence intensities points to independent behavior of the dopant ions without Er→Eu or Eu→Er energy transfer. Eu3+ excitation at 394 nm results in Eu3+ 5DJ emissions only and confirms the absence of Eu→Er energy transfer. Eu3+ luminescence from the 5DJ states prevails for all investigated excitations. The optimum Eu3+ doping level is close to 5%. Significant Er3+ luminescence was observed for 377 nm excitation only. The strong 2H9/2 and weak 4S3/2 Er3+ emissions indicate small losses by multiphonon relaxation and a good quality of the nanomaterial. Er co-doping hinders the energy migration on the Gd3+ and Eu3+ sublattices which results in higher Gd3+/Eu3+ and Eu3+ 5D1/5D0 emission ratios.


Here we present some results obtained in Shapes, an evolutionary environment applied to artistic production in visual domain. In Shapes environment the user can interactively create and evolve visual compositions by using random variations of pre-programmed objects. Pixels of these compositions can be used in another evolutionary environment, ArTVox, to direct a sound sequence creating, in this way, "transgenic" visual-and-sound compositions. The genetic algorithm is described. Both environments, Shapes and ArTVox, were developed by the authors, in Java.


In this paper, the effects of Ta2O5 addition on the electrical and physical properties of 0.98(Na0.5K0.5)NbO3-0.02(Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3 were investigated. The 0.98(Na0.5K0.5)NbO3 -0.02(Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3 [0.98NKN-0.02NBT] ceramics with the addition of 0~0.5 wt% Ta2O5 have been prepared following the conventional mixed oxide process. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that, during sintering, all of the (Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3 diffuse into the lattice of (Na0.5K0.5)NbO3 to form a solid solution, in which a orthorhombic phase with a perovskite structure was found. For 0.98NKN-0.02NBT ceramics by doping 0.1 wt% Ta2O5, the poled dielectric constant (K33T) is 1090. The electromechanical coupling coefficients of the planar mode kp and the thickness mode kt reach 0.39 and 0.48, respectively. Our results show that 0.98NKN-0.02NBT with the addition of 0.1 wt% Ta2O5 is a good lead-free piezoelectric ceramic.


We have constructed a series of plasmid templates that allow T7 RNA polymerase (RNAP) to be halted at defined intervals downstream from its promoter in a preserved sequence context. While transcription complexes halted at +3 to +6 are highly unstable, complexes halted at +10 to +14 dissociate very slowly and gradually lose their capacity to extend transcripts. Complexes halted at +18 and beyond dissociate more readily, but the stability of the these complexes is enhanced significantly in the presence of the next incoming nucleotide. Unexpectedly, the stability of complexes halted at +14 and beyond was found to be lower on supercoiled templates than on linear templates. To explore this further, we used synthetic DNA templates in which the nature of the non-template (NT) strand was varied. Whereas initiation complexes are less stable in the presence of a complementary NT strand, elongation complexes are more stable in the presence of a complementary NT strand, and the presence of a non-complementary NT strand (a mismatched bubble) results in even greater stability. The results suggest that the NT strand plays an important role in displacing the nascent RNA, allowing its interaction with an RNA product binding site in the RNAP. The NT strand may also contribute to stabilization by interacting directly with the enzyme. A mutant RNAP that has a deletion in the flexible "thumb" domain responds to changes in template topology in a manner that is similar to that of the wild-type (WT) enzyme, but halted complexes formed by the mutant enzyme are particularly dependent upon the presence of the NT strand for stability. In contrast, an N-terminal RNAP mutant that has a decreased capacity to bind single-stranded RNA forms halted complexes with much lower levels of stability than the WT enzyme, and these complexes are not stabilized by the presence of the NT strand. The distinct responses of the mutant RNAPs to changes in template structure indicate that the N-terminal and thumb domains have quite different functions in stabilizing the transcription complex.


This thesis is made up of three main essays, each utilizing applied micro-econometric techniques to develop a deeper understanding of issues involving healthcare and benefit receipt. The first essay (Chapter 2) documents the medical spending of the US population aged 65 and older. It establishes some important facts, including that the government provides over 65% of the elderly's medical expenses. Despite this, the expenses that remain after government transfers are even more concentrated among a small group of people. Thus, government health insurance, while valuable, is far from complete. The second essay (Chapter 3) estimates the effect of Disability Insurance benefit receipt on mortality. Those receiving benefits receive large cash transfers, and health insurance, but also face work disincentives. Each of these factors could affect mortality. Identifying the overall mortality effect is difficult, however, because those allowed benefits may be unobservably less healthy than those denied. I exploit the random assignment of judges to disability insurance cases to create instrumental variables that address this selection effect and find considerable heterogeneity in the mortality response. The final essay (Chapter 4) assesses whether the low observed rate of welfare migrants is due to individuals not knowing the quality of welfare programs in their area. I focus on the elderly in England and use a policy introduced in 2002, where the national government gave a publicly-released rating of the quality of each area's social services (which includes social care). I treat this public release of the ratings as an "information shock" and analyze the distribution of the elderly population across areas before and after the star ratings became public. I use the facts from my empirical analysis to motivate a search model with nested learning, where individuals search for the areas with the best social services and gradually learn about their unobserved quality. Estimates suggest that there is a lot of noise in the learning process, but overall the information release led to increases in utility by affecting migration decisions.


The tattered remains of a few paragraphs of a work on harmonic theory were published in 1986 as P. Oxy. LIII.3706, with a careful commentary by M. W. Haslam. There are six fragments. Four of them (frr. 3–6) are too small for any substantial sense to be recovered; and while fr. 2 and the second column of fr. 1 allow us to pick out significant words and phrases here and there, the remnants of these columns are very narrow, and the line of reasoning seems inaccessible. Musicological analysis must focus on the first column of fr. 1. There is little enough even of that, and in attempting a relatively detailed interpretation I shall have to be rather less cautious than Haslam quite properly was. But I think that something can be made of it without stretching speculation too far, and if I am right the piece is of some genuine interest. Here are the two versions of the text that Haslam prints. The first records what is decipherable on the papyrus itself, while the second represents a partial reconstruction, restoring word-divisions and some of the missing letters.


Rapid Prototyping is a process of manufacturing which finds a wide range of applications in the field of mechanical, industrial, aerospace and also in the electronics. Now-a-days due to their ease in the manufacturing of different materials and also the less time required for manufacturing and also some other advantages, they are being used in the field of medical and dentistry. Replacing the spine for humans or using biomaterials for support in the spinal cords is a place where rapid prototyping could be used for the manufacturing of those biomaterials. Spine is the backbone that encloses and also houses the spinal cord and protects them. There are various reasons that causes the fracture in the spine of the humans and this results in serious consequences to the spi-nal cord and also affects the human body from many doing operations. Some of the materials could be used for support in the human spine in case of injury and they can be used to replace the spine in case of some serious fractures and they should possess the properties and the strength to bear the weight and also to withstand the body conditions like temperature, pH level and also should protect the spinal cord effectively with a longer lifePolymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is a reliable biomaterial that could be used for the replacement and also for support for spine in the humans to withstand the weight and the body conditions and have a longer life. The rapid proto-typing is a reliable method to manufacture the Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) to make the model of the human spine into the product. The model of the human spine could be made in some 3D modeling softwares and they can be also analyzed with some suitable software before manu-facturing. The integration between the modeling software and the rapid prototyping machine could be done before the manufacturing and by this method the injuries in the spine could be rec-tified in a cheaper and effective way.


From around 2008, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) promised a new way in which universities could better position themselves for future disruptions to the Higher Education (HE) sector. Anyone with an internet connection was now able to access vast numbers of courses, without having to pay expensive tuition fees. Now, ten years later, MOOCs as a disruptive technology, have been tried and tested. In this article, a thematic literature review is conducted to evaluate the implementation of MOOCs. The main findings are that HE institutions offering MOOCs often rate their successes or challenges in terms of the monetary returns, course uptake and completion rates, the authentication of students and the formal accreditation of courses. Other important factors include the nature and role of student engagement, the sustainability of MOOCs and the urgent need for course materials to be available and accessible. While this study focuses on the UK HE experience, future research will need to examine the usefulness of MOOCs in different country and learning contexts.


Large offshore wind farms have actively been developed in order to meet the needs for wind energy since the land-based wind farms have almost been fully developed especially in Europe. The key problem for the construction of offshore wind farms may be on the high cost of energy compared to land-based ones. NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) has developed a spreadsheet-based tool to estimate the cost of wind-generated electricity from both land-based and offshore wind turbines. Component formulas for various kinds and scales of wind turbines were made using available field data. In this paper, this NREL estimation model is introduced and applied to the offshore wind turbines now under designing or in production in Korea, and the result is discussed.


The effects of atropine on normal and anomalous A-V pathways were investigated using HBE in 40 cases consisting of 25 subjects without pre-excitation (group I) and 15 cases with WPW syndrome (group II). In group I, A-H interval shortened with a mean decrease of 30% following the administration of atropine (p less than 0.001), while P-A and H-V intervals as well as QRS duration remained unchanged. In group II the electrocardiogram showed WPW syndrome pattern (pattern W) in 12, normalization (pattern N) in 1 and both patterns (pattern WN) in 2 cases during the control study. In 10 cases pattern W persisted after atropine. Atropine changed pattern W to WN in 2 cases, WN to W in 1, WN to N in 1 and N to WN in one case. P-d interval remained constant. Atropine had no effect on the conduction time within atrium. His-Purkinje system and anomalous A-V pathway, but accelerated the transmission through A-V node. Atropine decreased the QRS duration of pattern W in 11 of 13 cases showing pattern W or WN both before and after atropine. Since the QRS duration showing pattern W correlated with P-H interval and (see article) and had the negative correlation with H-d interval (p less than 0.001), fusion mechanism was considered as the genesis of electrocardiographic pattern in most cases with WPW syndrome. Atropine influence was negative on QRS complex of pattern W i2 cases showing the co-existence of Kent bundle and James fibers or exclusive Kent bundle conduction. In the latter case the selection of antiarrhythmic agents should be made with caution. A-V dissociation with junctional rhythm developed in 9 cases (4 in group II) within 2 and a half minutes after atropine. The duration was as short as 15 seconds or less in 6 cases. The continuous tracing is necessary not to miss the AV dissociation. The disappearance of delta wave after atropine was observed during the change to pattern WN and the occurrence of A-V junctional rhythm or beat in 5 of 12 cases showing pattern W prior to the drug administration, and right bundle branch block was disclosed in 2 cases. The normalization of QRS complex also made it possible to measure His-Purkinje conduction time. In this point atropine is superior to the other antiarrhythmic agents which prolong H-V interval. Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia induced after atropine revealed shorter A-H with fixed H-V and V-A intervals, compared with the tachycardia before atropine in one case. The administration of atropine serves as an aid to evaluate the participation of anomalous A-V pathway in the tachycardia circuit.


Diabetes insipidus is a symptom which may be due to a variety of causes. Its diagnosis and treatment, unsatisfactory as the latter may be, present no difficulty, but the detection of the underlying cause often requires considerable study and may at times be impossible. When this underlying cause is not ascertainable a diagnosis of idiopathic diabetes insipidus may be made. In many instances this classification will be correct, since neither the further course nor the necropsy will reveal an anatomic cause for the polydipsia and polyuria. In other cases the basic process will be recognized only after the symptoms have progressed for months or years. The observation of a few cases of polyuria and polydipsia and the attempt to formulate their prognoses induced us to study the literature of diabetes insipidus in children. This survey demonstrated that definite progress has recently been made in the understanding of some of the


This paper examines persistence in Turkish inflation rates using data from consumer and wholesale price indices. The inflationary process in Turkey is believed to be highly inertial, which should lead to strongly persistent inflation series. Persistence of seventy-five inflation series at various aggregation levels is examined by estimating models that allow long memory through fractional differencing. The order of fractional differencing is estimated using several semiparametric and maximum likelihood methods. Persistence of each series is evaluated using the time required for a given percentage of the effect of a shock to dissipate. We find that disaggregate inflation series show no significant persistence. We found that only twelve out of seventy-five series require more than six months for 99 percent of the effect of a shock to dissipate. Thus, the paper finds evidence of spurious long memory due to aggregation.


SIR: Haenophilus aphrophilus is a Gram negative, capnophilic, slow growing bacillus.' In human disease this organism is an uncommon cause of bacterial endocarditis and, rarely, brain abscess, meningitis, sinusitis, peritonitis, pneumonitis, epidural abscess.2 We report a case of spondylodiscitis due to H aphrophilus, in which diagnosis was delayed because of the presence of a vacuum phenomenon in the interverbral disc space, initially interpreted as non-infectious disease. A 67 year old man presented with a three week history of increasing low back pain associated with fever of 38°C. Eight days previously he had been treated for a respiratory tract infection with 1 g of amoxicillin/day. A physical examination showed he was normal except for severe lumbar stiffness. His temperature was raised to 38-5°C. Routine laboratory tests showed leucocytosis (1005x1IO white blood cells/l) and a raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate (60 mm/h). Routine x ray examination of the lumbar spine showed narrowing of the L4-5 and L5-S1 discs. Computed tomography confirmed the absence of bone lesions and showed a vacuum phenomenon at the L4-5 level, which was interpreted as a degenerative lesion (fig 1). A bone scan (technetium-99m) showed a slightly increased uptake at L4-5. The search for a septic process proved to be negative in urine, blood, sputum, and in pharyngeal and buccal swabs. Multiple investigations for a malignant neoplasm or a haematological malignancy gave negative results showing that the pain was not due to such lesions. Repeated serological tests for Lyme disease and HIV, and Wright and Widal-Felix tests were negative. The intradermal tuberculin was negative. Owing to the lack of improvement and the persistent fever during this long hospital admission, a lumbar puncture was performed. It showed a raised cerebrospinal fluid protein concentration of 2-4 g/l with 97 cells, including 60% lymphocytes. The cerebrospinal fluid remained sterile on various culture media, however. Repeated x ray examination of the lumbar spine, performed three weeks after the initial admission to hospital, showed further narrowing of the L4-5 disc space with erosions of adjacent bone end plates of the L4 and L5 vertebrae suggesting osteomyelitis. Computed tomography confirmed the lesions with swelling of the surrounding soft tissues (fig 2). Results of two dimensional echocardiography were normal. Culture of a discoverte-


Ricin is a heterodimeric plant protein that is potently toxic to mammalian cells. Toxicity results from the catalytic depurination of eukaryotic ribosomes by ricin toxin A chain (RTA) that follows toxin endocytosis to, and translocation across, the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. To ultimately identify proteins required for these later steps in the entry process, it will be useful to express the catalytic subunit within the endoplasmic reticulum of yeast cells in a manner that initially permits cell growth. A subsequent switch in conditions to provoke innate toxin action would permit only those strains containing defects in genes normally essential for toxin retro-translocation, refolding or degradation to survive. As a route to such a screen, several RTA mutants with reduced catalytic activity have previously been isolated. Here we report the use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to isolate temperature-dependent mutants of endoplasmic reticulum-targeted RTA. Two such toxin mutants with opposing phenotypes were isolated. One mutant RTA (RTAF108L/L151P) allowed the yeast cells that express it to grow at 37 degrees C, whereas the same cells did not grow at 23 degrees C. Both mutations were required for temperature-dependent growth. The second toxin mutant (RTAE177D) allowed cells to grow at 23 degrees C but not at 37 degrees C. Interestingly, RTAE177D has been previously reported to have reduced catalytic activity, but this is the first demonstration of a temperature-sensitive phenotype. To provide a more detailed characterization of these mutants we have investigated their N-glycosylation, stability, catalytic activity and, where appropriate, a three-dimensional structure. The potential utility of these mutants is discussed


The purpose of this research is to study the movements of teachers' churn rate in the state of Washington over the past 14 years. The research of teachers' churn rate is an integrative study, with retrospective part and prospective part. Retrospective study includes the analysis of descriptive statistics (level I), statistical inference (level II) and causal inference (level III) (Berk, R.A. (2016) Statistical Learning from a Regression Perspective. Philadelphia, PA: Springer). Prospective study is mainly about forecasting and statistical inference that generated from the predictions. In this research, we are using longitudinal data analysis. The good point of longitudinal data analysis is that it provides us with the data in the past fifteen years with keeping track of the status of all K-12 teachers in the State of Washington. A Comprehensive meta-analysis research on teacher career trajectories conducted by Borman and Dowling shows that very a few previous studies used long-term longitudinal data to properly track the movement of teachers (Borman & Dowling, 2008). From statistical respect, longitudinal studies always provide better results than other approaches when time is a factor in the analysis. Our research is the holistic contribution from the whole project panel, especially under the advising of Professor Robert Boruch, who is also the director of the whole research project series. Bowen Cai takes the responsibility of retention & churn rate calculating, statistical modeling (including machine learning algorithms and time series forecasting) and statistical analysis from the respects of survey methods and design.


The generation of residual stresses by grinding process on the surface for a soft material results in poor performance and diminished life. In this paper, grinding-induced residual stresses is addressed and an attempt is made to relieve these residual stresses while achieving nano level surface finish using ball end magnetorheological finishing (BEMRF) process. BEMRF is a recently developed process that is effectively used to for fine figuring and polishing of a variety of magnetic and non-magnetic materials. In our present work we will demonstrate the relieving of residual stresses and reduction in surface roughness generated after surface grinding of Aluminium 7075 workpiece using BEMRF process. The impact of various BEMRF variables on reduction in surface roughness and residual stresses are discussed statistically and graphically. Residual stresses of workpiece surfaces have been measured by using portable X-ray residual stress analyzer. Significant process parameters affecting the residual stresses during polishing of workpiece are obtained using Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and F-test. It has been observed that reduction in residual stress is achieved along with nano level surface finish on aluminium workpiece surface using BEMRF technique.


Background: Vesicoureteral reflux is the most common urinary congenital anomaly in children. Given the risk associated with radiation exposure there has been an increasing need for radiation-free method in the diagnosis and follow-up of the vesicoureteral reflux. The aim of our study is to compare conventional urosonography without contrast enhancement and x-ray voiding cystourethrography. Patients and Methods: Children with recurrent urinary tract infection with suspected vesicoureteral reflux were included to the study. Vesicoureteral reflux is demonstrated and graded by x-ray voiding cystourethrography. DMSA is used for the evaluation of renal scar. Conventional sonographic procedure was performed in all patients. Ureterovesical junction insertion angle was evaluated. The diameter and length of the ureterovesical junction were also measured. Results: 268 children enrolled to the study. Vesicoureteral reflux was demonstrated in 62 children by x-ray voiding cystourethrography. Ureterovesical junction insertion angle measurement had a statistically significant relation for right and left vesicoureteral reflux presence (right: r: .646, p: .01 and left: r: .446, p: .01). Diagnosis sensitivity of vesicoureteral reflux with conventional ultrasonography is 95.10% and specificity is 81% (Youden's index 76.1%) for the cutoff value of the ureterovesical junction insertion angle is 28.6 degrees. Positive predictive value is 87.2%, negative predictive value is 94.73% and diagnostic accuracy is 86.29% with conventional ultrasonography. Conclusions: Measurement of ureterovesical junction insertion angle, length and diameter by conventional urosonography is an easy accessible and cheap technique with high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis and followup of the vesicoureteral reflux without exposure to ionizing radiation.


[1] Radiocarbon analyses of carbonate materials provide critical information for understanding the last glacial cycle, recent climate history and paleoceanography. Methods that reduce the time and cost of radiocarbon (14C) analysis are highly desirable for large sample sets and reconnaissance type studies. We have developed a method for rapid radiocarbon analysis of carbonates using a novel continuous-flow accelerator mass spectrometry (CFAMS) system. We analyzed a suite of deep-sea coral samples and compared the results with those obtained using a conventional AMS system. Measurement uncertainty is <0.02 Fm or 160 Ryr for a modern sample and the mean background was 37,800 Ryr. Radiocarbon values were repeatable and in good agreement with those from the conventional AMS system. Sample handling and preparation is relatively simple and the method offered a significant increase in speed and cost effectiveness. We applied the method to coral samples from the Eastern Pacific Ocean to obtain an age distribution and identify samples for further analysis. This paper is intended to update the paleoceanographic community on the status of this new method and demonstrate its feasibility as a choice for rapid and affordable radiocarbon analysis.


If ethnography is a literary form, can fiction also serve its purposes equally well? Comparison of the analyses of Serbian culture in the 1990s in the two scholarly studies and the novel reviewed here brings this question to the fore. The authors are Belgrade natives who left for North America in the 1980s and write in English for an American audience. They are, thus, externalized insiders. All exoticize their native land, reproducing Orientalist images of Serbia common in writings about the Balkans. Despite the literary turn in anthropology, the novelist still conveys the complexities of life in 1990s Serbia better than the more theoretically oriented and self-reflexive scholarly authors. To this reviewer, an American who joined a Belgrade family in the 1980s and is thus an internalized outsider, there is at least as much verisimilitude in the novel's magical realism as there is in the scholarly analyses of imaginaries.


Prey species use structures such as burrows to minimize predation risk. The spatial arrangement of these resources can have important implications for individual and population fitness. For example, there is evidence that clustered resources can benefit individuals by reducing predation risk and increasing foraging opportunity concurrently, which leads to higher population density. However, the scale of clustering that is important in these processes has been ignored during theoretical and empirical development of resource models. Ecological understanding of refuge exploitation by prey can be improved by spatial analysis of refuge use and availability that incorporates the effect of scale. We measured the spatial distribution of pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) refugia (burrows) through censuses in four 6-ha sites. Point pattern analyses were used to evaluate burrow selection by comparing the spatial distribution of used and available burrows. The presence of food resources and additional overstory cover resources was further examined using logistic regression. Burrows were spatially clustered at scales up to approximately 25 m, and then regularly spaced at distances beyond ∼40 m. Pygmy rabbit exploitation of burrows did not match availability. Burrows used by pygmy rabbits were likely to be located in areas with high overall burrow density (resource clusters) and high overstory cover, which together minimized predation risk. However, in some cases we observed an interaction between either overstory cover (safety) or understory cover (forage) and burrow density. The interactions show that pygmy rabbits will use burrows in areas with low relative burrow density (high relative predation risk) if understory food resources are high. This points to a potential trade-off whereby rabbits must sacrifice some safety afforded by additional nearby burrows to obtain ample forage resources. Observed patterns of clustered burrows and non-random burrow use improve understanding of the importance of spatial distribution of refugia for burrowing herbivores. The analyses used allowed for the estimation of the spatial scale where subtle trade-offs between predation avoidance and foraging opportunity are likely to occur in a natural system.


An asynchronous program is one that contains procedure calls which are not immediately executed from the callsite, but stored and "dispatched" in a non-deterministic order by an external scheduler at a later point. We formalize the problem of interprocedural dataflow analysis for asynchronous programs as AIFDS problems, a generalization of the IFDS problems for interprocedural dataflow analysis. We give an algorithm for computing the precise meet-over-valid-paths solution for any AIFDS instance, as well as a demand-driven algorithm for solving the corresponding demand AIFDS instances. Our algorithm can be easily implemented on top of any existing interprocedural dataflow analysis framework. We have implemented the algorithm on top of BLAST, thereby obtaining the first safety verification tool for unbounded asynchronous programs. Though the problem of solving AIFDS instances is EXPSPACE-hard, we find that in practice our technique can efficiently analyze programs by exploiting standard optimizations of interprocedural dataflow analyses.


Water transport in epithelia can occur down an established concentration gradient, in which case it is indisputably osmotic. In other epithelia, water transport occurs in the absence of or even against differences in the osmolalities of the adjacent solutions. In the latter case, water flow is in the same direction as the net solute flux and in near-isosmotic proportions. The pathways and mechanisms of water transport in this class of epithelia remain controversial, but the prevailing views are that water flow is largely transcellular, via both water pores (aquaporins, AQP) and the phospholipid bilayer, with little contribution of other membrane proteins. In addition, solute–solvent flux coupling is not a molecular, but a thermodynamic phenomenon, i.e. water transport is driven by small differences in osmolality between epithelial fluid compartments created by solute transport. Paracellular water flow is likely to be small relative to transcellular water flow.

Keywords:

epithelium;
water transport;
osmosis;
aquaporin


To determine the nature and the amount of the tissues involved in weight loss during lactation, an experiment was carried out on 9 series of 3 littermate Large-White gilts divided into three groups. The animals were similarly raised until first farrowing. The control gilts were slaughtered at farrowing, while those in the other two groups (group H and group B) received diets differing only in energetic level (14.2 and 10.3 Mcal ME/day, respectively). The gilts were slaughtered after 22 days of lactation. Half-carcasses were cut and dissected. Muscle weight decreased similarly in the two lactating groups (-9.5 and -11.3 kg in groups H and B, respectively), but fat loss was higher in the energy-restricted animals (-6.7 vs -1.7 kg). These results were confirmed by changes in adipose cell size, blood urea and plasma free fatty acids between farrowing and weaning.


Background The transition to an energy mix with lower carbon emissions is hampered by the existence of the so-called Energy Trilemma. The primary consequence is a trade-off between various objectives of energy policy, e.g., equity and sustainability. This conflict can lead to policy gridlock if policymakers are unable to prioritize the goals. This paper proposes a framework and methodology to manage the trilemma by applying methods related to multi-criteria decision-making in order to assign weights to the various components of the trilemma. Results Following the International Energy Agency (IEA), an expanded concept of energy security is adopted and translates to a version of the trilemma different from that of the World Energy Council. This study takes into account autarky, price, supply, and carbon emissions. The values of these variables are generated by a software called PLEXOS and are incorporated in a welfare function. Trade-offs and complementarities among the four variables are taken into account by the equations in the PLEXOS model. Meanwhile, weights for each of the components of the trilemma are obtained using the Analytical Hierarchy Process. The experts interviewed for this exercise are considered hypothetical heads of the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE). Conclusion Two scenarios were compared: a market-based simulation and one where a carbon-tax was imposed. As expected, the carbon-tax leads to a fall in the level of carbon emissions but a rise in the cost of electricity. Because the demand for electricity has a higher price elasticity among lower income classes, the carbon-tax will worsen equity. Attempting to resolve the conflict among the goals of energy policy is difficult leading to a possible gridlock. Policy options can, however, be ranked using the values generated by the welfare function. The ranking clearly depends on the preference or priorities of the hypothetical head of the DOE but at least a decision could be reached. In this manner, trade-offs are measured and the trilemma can be managed even if it is not resolved.


ARTS 24002 DRAWING AS A STUDIO PRACTICE 3 Credit Hours An introduction to advanced concepts and ideas which enable the student to understand and professionally realize their drawings as a studio practice. Work produced in this course must be retained for later portfolio presentation in ART 30001. Prerequisite: ARTS 14000 and ARTS 14001. Schedule Type: Studio Contact Hours: 6 other Grade Mode: Standard Letter


Rare Earth Element (REE) is a unique group of metals which mainly comprises seventeen (17) elements, which fifteen (15) elements from the lanthanides group plus Scandium and Yttrium. This REE can be divided into heavy rare earth element (HREE) and light rare earth element (LREE) categories. During the initial extraction stage, the LREE is separated from HREE of the original ore and the sub-separations are then conducted subsequently corresponding to the respective categories. However, the separation difficulty becomes rather critical in a certain context, whenever the HREE is the major element to be extracted relative to LREE. In addition, there are no systematic guidelines procedures available to determine which specific separation pathway is more economically feasible among the various extraction options that exist. Thus, this study proposes a systematic quantitative rule-based framework, by excel modelling, in assessing comprehensively the economic potential of any separation model of REE processing that considered, whereby the standard characterization of monazite mineral composition is utilized as the main case study. This work also adopts the separation factor value of HDEHP-HCL as well as EHEHPA-HCL as the main extraction platforms. The findings suggest that the former extractant is effective for the extraction of light REE (LREE), while the latter incline to prefer the medium and heavy REE (MREE and HREE) particularly on the ground of separation stages factor. In light of the initial results, this study also proposes a hybrid approach in performing the complete optimal REE separation that specifically based on the sequence of 'Art versus Science' (AvsS) structure. These results have demonstrated that the proposed quantitative rule-based framework able to determine the optimal separation pathway provided the complete separation factor values and the mineral characterization of REE are available for assessment. Thus, this new method is suitably applied as a tool or guidelines in the feasibility study of any processing design for REE separation.


An innovative system named WEALTHY is presented, where conducting and piezoresistive yarns are integrated in a knitted garment and used as sensor and electrode elements. The system allows the simultaneous recording of vital signs as well as parameters' extrapolation and inter-signal elaboration that contribute to produce alert messages and synoptic patient table. The system aims to assist cardiac patients during rehabilitation phase, patients can be continuously followed during selected time intervals, such as during physical activity or occurrence of symptoms, to discover potential threats, to tailor the best medical treatment for long term care, and to generate appropriate alerts to patient, physician or emergency medical systems. The system can also assist professional workers subject to considerable physical and psychological stress and/or environmental and professional health risks. Finally, by providing direct feedback to the users, WEALTHY can act on the level of awareness and allow better control of their own condition.


Repeated sternotomy often leads to serious complications in patients due to the formation of cardiac adhesions. In this study we characterized dexamethasone-loaded biodegradable poly(lactide)-poly(ethyleneglycol) copolymer films for site-specific drug delivery and examined their efficacy in the rabbit model of postoperative cardiac adhesions. Tritiated dexamethasone-loaded films were used to determine the in vitro release and in vivo drug distribution. Dexamethasone release in serum was biphasic with 69% drug released after 72 hr. The implants produced sustained drug levels at the implantation site with low distribution into the peripheral tissues. The matrices were implanted in rabbits between the epicardium and the sternum following sternotomy, pericardiectomy and epicardium abrasion, with the drug-releasing surface facing the epicardium. The tenacity and density of the adhesions was examined 21 days post procedure in comparison to both groups of untreated and rabbits implanted with blank matrices. Similarly tenacious and dense adhesions were observed in both control groups. In contrast, epicardial adhesions' formation was significantly reduced and the anatomy was preserved in the treated animals. It is concluded that local delivery of dexamethasone from biodegradable implants provides a promising approach for the prevention of pericardial adhesions while potentially minimizing the systemic adverse effects inherent to systemic therapy or high blood levels of the drug.


In many countries, more men in preschools are called for. In this article, we explore how Swedish students understand the talk about recruiting more male preschool teachers, and how they agree with or challenge dominant notions of femininity and masculinity through their understanding. Interviews were conducted with female and male student teachers who were aiming at working in preschools. The results show that gender stereotypes and common-sense phrases are both adopted and challenged in the students' discussions. Many students, both female and male, welcome male teachers because men are expected to add something to preschools. Furthermore, male teachers are widely appreciated in a way that female teachers are not. However, other students, both female and male, highlight and question the simplification that often comes with the call for more men. These students question the one-sided focus on gender. They also object to the gender division that may occur in gender-mixed work groups.


ABSTRACT Background: In order to support efforts to prevent bullying, more needs to be understood about students' own explanations of bullying in their everyday school lives. In-depth qualitative analysis can contribute important insights regarding insider perspectives in terms of how students understand and explain the social interaction patterns of bullying. Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine, in detail, how a small sample of lower secondary school students explain why bullying happens and to develop a grounded theory analysis based on the students' perspectives. Method: The participants in the study were 17 Swedish lower secondary school students aged between 13 and 15 years. A total of 17 qualitative interviews and 3 follow-up interviews were conducted. Grounded theory methods based on a constructivist position were used to explore and analyse the data. Findings: The findings are based on data collected from young people who had witnessed bullying. The analysis of their explanations of why bullying happens resulted in six categories: social positioning, victim constructing, bullying normalising, rule diffusion, rule resistance and cultural ideals. These categories are interrelated, and the core process of bullying was identified as social positioning. The analysis suggested that the main concern of those who engage in bullying is to gain and maintain a high social status. Victims, in turn, were socially constructed as 'different' and 'wrong', and were connected with a low-status position. Conclusions: The study draws attention to the need for students' understandings of bullying to be considered – for example, through student consultations. It is hoped that the current findings could be helpful as a starting point when investigating students' perspectives and giving students a voice in bullying prevention approaches at school.


ABSTRACT This consensus statement is the product of the Second International Think Tank on Athlete Mental Health, held on the initiative of the International Society of Sport Psychology. The purposes of the Think Tank were to engage international sport psychology societies and organisations in a discussion about athlete mental health as embedded in an Olympic/Paralympic cycle, and to develop practical recommendations for sport organisations. An invited group of designated experts discussed applied experiences working with athletes within an Olympic and Paralympic environment. The Games and mental health are interrelated, because athletes committing whole-heartedly to an Olympic/Paralympic pursuit are at increased risk of disappointment, identity foreclosure, and high life stress. Dividing the quadrennial into three main phases (i.e., pre-, during-, and post-Games) participants discussed three topics for each phase: (1) the key opportunities and challenges; (2) the sport environment, and how it can nourish or malnourish athlete mental health; and (3) collaboration and communication within expert support teams. Each phase of the quadrennium presents specific challenges and opportunities, and mental health screening and support should be administered across all phases. However, the post-Games period is one of increased vulnerability, while at the same time, the returning staff is oftentimes exhausted and unavailable. Ideally, a specialised collaborative team should handle the post-Games mental health support. Initiatives are needed to (a) improve the psychological safety of pre-, during-, and post-Games high performance environments, (b) reduce unnecessary stress, (c) optimise recovery, (d) de-stigmatize mental health issues, and (e) increase help-seeking.


In this study, we present results obtained from modelling the mid-Pliocene warm period using the Community Earth System Models (COSMOS, version: COSMOS-landveg r2413, 2009) with the two different sets of boundary conditions prescribed for the two phases of the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP). Boundary conditions, model forcing, and modelling methodology of the two phases of PlioMIP, tagged PlioMIP1 and PlioMIP2,differ considerably in palaeogeography, in particular with regards to the state of ocean gateways, ice-masks, vegetation and topography. Further differences between model setups as suggested for PlioMIP1 and PlioMIP2 consider updates to the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), that is specified as 405 and 400 parts per million by volume (ppmv) for PlioMIP1 and PlioMIP2, respectively, as well as minor differences in the concentrations of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) due to changes in the protocol of the Paleoclimate Model Intercomparison Project (PMIP) from phase 3 to phase 4. With this manuscript, we bridge the gap between our contributions to PlioMIP1 (Stepanek and Lohmann, 2012) and PlioMIP2 (Stepanek et al., 2019). We highlight some of the effects that differences in the chosen Mid-Pliocene model setup (PlioMIP2 vs. PlioMIP1) have on the climate state as derived with the COSMOS, as this information will be valuable in the framework of the model-model and model-data-comparison within PlioMIP2. We evaluate the model sensitivity to improved mid-Pliocene boundary conditions using PlioMIP's core mid-Pliocene experiments for PlioMIP1 and PlioMIP2, and present further simulations where we test model sensitivity to variations in palaeogeography, orbit and concentration of CO2. Firstly,we highlight major changes in boundary conditions from PlioMIP1 to PlioMIP2 and also the limitations recorded from the initial effort. The results derived from of our simulations show that COSMOS simulates a mid-Pliocene climate state that is 0.08 K colder in PlioMIP2, if compared to PlioMIP1. On one hand, high-latitude warming,which is supported by proxy evidence of the mid-Pliocene, is underestimated in simulations of both PlioMIP1 andPlioMIP2. On the other hand, spatial variations in surface air temperature (SAT), sea surface temperature (SST) as well as the distribution of sea ice suggest improvement of simulated SAT and SST in PlioMIP2 if employing the updated palaeogeography. The PlioMIP2 Mid-Pliocene simulation produces warmer SSTs in the Arctic and North Atlantic Ocean than derived from the respective PlioMIP1 climate state. The difference in prescribed CO2accountsfor 1.1 K of warming in the Arctic, leading to an ice-free summer in the PlioMIP1 simulation, and a quasi-ice-free summer in PlioMIP2. Furthermore, employing different orbital forcings in simulating the Mid-Pliocene lead to pronounced annual and seasonal variations, which is not accounted for by marine and terrestrial reconstruction of the time-slice.


In administration of bacterial exotoxins (diphtheria, botulinic) to guinea pigs in doses of 1/100 Dlm at an interval of one hour there developed a typical sickness with the lethal outcome in the course of 2-3 days from the beginning of the exotoxin administration. Low bacterial exotoxin doses induced allergic reaction of the organism before the cell producing specific antibodies began to act in defence. Lymphatic system cells responded rapidly to the low doses of bacterial exotoxins, but the process of formation of cells producing antibodies failed to reach mature plasmocytes, and no antibodies formed. With increase of the interval between the administration of low bacterial exotoxin doses to 24 hours specific antibodies did form, but these antibodies failed to protect the animals which were in the state of infectious allergy. The first stage of infectious allergy induced by low bacterial doses was nonspecific. Animals which were in the state of infectious allergy to diphtheria exotoxin perished of low botulinic (exotoxin) doses, and vice versa.


International audience

 The problem of computing products of Schubert classes in the cohomology ring can be formulated as theproblem of expanding skew Schur polynomial into the basis of ordinary Schur polynomials. We reformulate theproblem of computing the structure constants of the Grothendieck ring of a Grassmannian variety with respect to itsbasis of Schubert structure sheaves in a similar way; we address the problem of expanding the generating functions forskew reverse-plane partitions into the basis of polynomials which are Hall-dual to stable Grothendieck polynomials. From this point of view, we produce a chain of bijections leading to Buch's K-theoretic Littlewood-Richardson rule.


CD133 is a pentaspan transmembrane glycoprotein of ~120 kDa, which was initially used to identify haematopoietic stem cells and, later on, used for the isolation and study of cancer stem cells in many different types of solid tumour including colorectal cancer. Although CD133 expressing cells are thought to represent cancer stem cells, little is known about the exact role of CD133 and the molecular mechanisms underlying control of CD133 expression. This project sought to investigate these questions in colorectal cancer.

Initially the expression of CD133 was tested by immunohistochemistry in a two tissue microarray (TMA) sets consisting of (a) 449 cases of primary colorectal cancer, and (b) 45 cases of primary and matched liver metastases. High CD133 expression was marginally associated with shorter overall survival (OS) (p=0.05, Log-rank test) but no difference in expression was found between primary tumours and corresponding metastases.

Next, the functional activity of CD133 was evaluated in colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines by knockdown in cell lines with high CD133 expression. In order to identify appropriate cell lines, the expression of CD133 was tested by quantitative RT -PCR in a series of 29 CRC cell lines and 10 samples of normal mucosa and, in selected cell lines, validated by testing for protein expression by flow cytometry. CD133 mRNA was expressed in 24/29 colorectal cancer cell lines with a heterogenous level of expression. 10 cell lines were chosen on the basis of CD133 mRNA expression level to assess the protein level. CD133 mRNA and protein expression were generally correlated (rs = 0.831, p= 0.003, spearman rank correlation coefficient test) although, interestingly, CD133 mRNA level was higher in normal samples compared with that in cancer cell lines and was significantly higher in cell lines derived from metastatic sites than those derived from site of primary tumour (p=0.009; Mann-whitney test). In addition, it was noted that many cell lines had a stable biphasic phenotype containing CD133+ and CD133- cell populations. This allowed functional analysis of CD133 by sorting the two populations.

HT29 was identified as a high expresser of CD133 (95%) and was used for gene-knockdown studies, SW480 had a biphasic population consisting of 42% CD133+ cells and 58% CD133- cells and each population was isolated by cell sorting before functional analysis. Functional assays included proliferation, migration, colony formation and staurosporine induced apoptosis assays. These showed that CD133 expressing cells had greater cell motility (p= 0.04, and p = 0.03, unpaired t-test, for knocked down cells and sorted populations respectively) , enhanced colony forming abilities (p=0.0001, and p=0.003, unpaired t-test for 2D and 3D colony formation respectively using sorted populations only), and increased resistance to staurosporine induced apoptosis (p=0.01, and p=0.008, unpaired t-test, for knocked down and sorted populations respectively) than CD133 negative counterparts. In addition, sorted monophasic populations reverted to a biphasic state in both CD133+/- populations from SW480. Further studies demonstrated that CD133-induced cell motility was independent of E-cadherin, β-catenin, and suggestive of not being regulated by Cten or Wnt, but further work is warranted to verify these results. In addition, regulation of CD133 was partly dependent on STAT3 signalling and on CD133 promoter methylation. Levels of mRNA of some stem cell related genes such as KLF-4, Musashi-1, OCT4, Nanog, and Lgr5 were higher in CD 133 + compared to CD 133 negative cells (p=0.008, p=0.004, p=0.006, p=0.001, and p=0.11; unpaired t-test, respectively)

In conclusion, in CRC, CD133 was found to be a significant prognostic factor which enhances cell motility and is associated with features of "stemness". It is a target of ST AT3 signalling and partly regulated by promoter methylation. More in depth studies are warranted to discover the downstream and upstream targets of CD133 before translating these preclinical and laboratory investigations into clinical management of colorectal cancer.


The ability to identify individual free-living animals in the field is an important method for studying their behavior. Apart from invasive external or internal tags, which may cause injury or abnormal behavior, most cephalopods cannot be tagged, as their skin is too soft and delicate for tag retention. Additionally, cephalopods remove many types of tags. However, body markings have been successfully used as a non invasive method to identify individuals of many different species of animals, including whale sharks, grey whales, seals, and zebras. We developed methods to sex and individually identify Caribbean reef squid, Sepiotheuthis sepioidea . Males showed distinct bright dots on their fins on a Basic Brown background and have a light line at the fin edge while the females had a gradual transition from Brown to Pale towards the edge of their fins without showing distinct fin-dots or lines. In the field we used four characters to distinguish individual S . sepioidea from each other – sex, relative size to each other, scars, and patterns of light-colored dots on their mantles and fins. These dot patterns are individually unique and constant in location through time. Observations in the field were backed up by an image database using illustrations and photography.


Reptant decapod crustaceans are almost absent from the Southern Ocean south of the Antarctic Convergence. We tested the hypothesis that this may be due to the reduced ability of this group to regulate Mg(2+) levels in the haemolymph ([Mg(2+)](HL)). Mg(2+) acts as an anaesthetic in marine invertebrates and its level is higher in Reptantia (crabs such as Cancer spp., Chionoecetes spp., Maja spp., 30-50 mmol l(-)(1)) than in Natantia (prawns such as Pandalus spp., Palaemon spp., Crangon spp., 5-12 mmol l(-)(1)). We varied [Mg(2+)](HL) in three species of reptant decapod crustaceans, Carcinus maenas, Hyas araneus and Eurypodius latreillei, and investigated heart rate, the rate of oxygen consumption and levels of spontaneous and forced activity at different temperatures. The rate of oxygen consumption and heart rate increased significantly with reduction in [Mg(2+)](HL) over the entire temperature range investigated in E. latreillei. In H. araneus, an increase in metabolic and heart rates compared with control values was found only at temperatures below 2 degrees C. Forced and spontaneous activity levels increased significantly in the group of [Mg(2+)](HL)-reduced animals below 0 degrees C, at which control animals were mostly inactive. At a reduced [Mg(2+)](HL) of 5-12 mmol l(-)(1), which is the [Mg(2+)](HL) of caridean shrimps in the Southern Ocean, Q(10) and activation energy were reduced for all these variables and extended the temperature range over which physiological functions were maintained. We suggest that the high [Mg(2+)](HL) in Reptantia causes relaxation of the animals and reduces their scope for activity, especially at temperatures below 0 degrees C. The hypothesis that the synergistic effects of high [Mg(2+)](HL) and low temperature probably prevented the Reptantia from recolonizing the permanently cold water of polar areas is discussed.


This paper provides a review of recent system demonstrations incorporating 1.3-/spl mu/m praseodymium doped fluoride fiber amplifiers (PDFFA's), following a brief historical perspective on the amplifiers development, the analogue and digital systems experiments, which have been conducted to date incorporating these new amplifiers, are described. Beyond this review material recent systems experiments conducted at BT Labs are also described. These experiments investigate the application of high performance PDFFA's to both, analogue, FM-SCM transmission, and high-speed (5 and 10 Gb/s), digital transmission systems. The results of a recent 10-Gb/s field transmission experiment are also presented. This paper also provides a perspective on the potential significance of 1.3-amplifiers to both long-haul point-to-point transmission systems and to optical fiber access networks based on passive optical network structures. >


REPORT OF A CASE A 58-year-old man was referred to us because of a widespread papulosquamous eruption. His history included mild diabetes for 12 years for which he had been receiving glyburide (15 mg/d) and metformin (850 mg/d). Three years ago, he had a myocardial infarction and began receiving acetylsalicylic acid (325 mg/d) and dipyridamole (75 mg three times daily). Oral quinidine bisulfate in sustained-action tablets had been added to therapy 1 month before admission for the management of premature ventricular contractions. On examination, erythematous scaly plaques were noted on his trunk and extremities ( Figure 1 ). A biopsy specimen of a plaque showed focal parakeratosis and absence of granular cells at these areas, elongation of the rete ridges and the papillae with dilated capillaries within them, and a perivascular infiltrate composed of lymphocytes in the dermis ( Figure 2 ). What is your diagnosis? DIAGNOSIS: Psoriasiform eruption induced by quinidine. CLINICAL COURSE Since an adverse reaction to quinidine had been suspected, he was instructed to discontinue this therapy. The lesions


The shortage of donor hearts and the physiological impact of pulsatile perfusion have driven technical innovation
 research efforts to create a positive displacement total artificial heart that can produce pulsatile flow and has a
 reasonable size for long-term assist in chronic heart failure. Such a product is the Scandinavian Real Heart 8
 (SRH8); a new pulsatile total artificial heart. We here describe the basic principles of the surgical and
 anesthesiologic techniques we have developed for implantation of the latest prototype of this device.


A remarkable cervid bone accumulation occurs at a single passage (named Cervid Passage; CP) at Lapa Nova, a maze cave in eastern Brazil. CP lies away from cave entrances, is a typical pitfall passage and contains bone remains of at least 121 cervids, besides few bats, peccaries and rodents remains. There is no evidence of water (or sediment) flow at the site and in general bones lack post depositional alterations and display anatomical proximity, suggesting that the majority of the remains found inside CP (mainly cervids) are due to animals that after entering the cave got trapped in the site. Observations suggest that two entrances could have provided access to cervids (and the few other animals, besides bats), either by falling inside the cave or by entering by their own free will. Once inside the cave, the maze pattern would make route finding difficult, and of all passage intersections, only the one leading to CP would result in a non-return situation, starving the animal to death. Radiocarbon dates suggest that animal entrapment occurred during at least 5 thousand years, during the Holocene. The reasons why mainly cervids were found are unknown but they are probably related to the biology of this group coupled with the fact that caves provide several specific taphonomic processes that may account for a strong bias in bone accumulation. Indeed, the frequent occurrence of Cervidae in both the fossil and sub-fossil record in Brazilian caves may be related to an overall high faunal abundance or may suggest that these animals were especially prone to enter caves, perhaps in search of nutrients (as cave saltpetre) or water.


The broad goal of this research was to analyse ICT skills need of final year undergraduate students, design and develop a prototype ICT skills information resource that will help them find the information required for their final year research projects. The analysis was based on the Task Person Technology Fit (TPTF) model which integrates elements of different theories and research models for the information needs analysis part of the study. This included computer self-efficacy (CSE), task fit and technology fit (TTF). The prototype system was created over ten research phases. The results of the analysis stage revealed that students were not well equipped with advanced ICT skills, which is what is needed for research projects. The three hypotheses posed that relate to the fact that there was no relationship between the students' current skills and the skills they need for their research project were also found to be true. Results from the evaluation revealed that the tool developed will be accepted, adopted and used by students. The study provides a conceptual framework for individuals, organisations, and information system community to be able to study the skills needs, as well as develop appropriate ICT Information resource that will meet the needs of the target group. The ICT skills Information Resource will empower the students to handle more complex tasks and motivate them to use more advanced features of the package.


The aim of the study was to demonstrate the opportunities and barriers to the development of entrepreneurship in the provision of tourist services in rural areas of Lower Silesia. The research was conducted in the poviat Klodzki and Milicz of accommodation provider. Based on the research it can be concluded that the development of tourist service providers in rural areas effectively reduces the financial barrier, and often lack of resorting to foreign capital. This has its impact on the quality of our products, the system of promotion and distribution. Determinants of the development of agritourism farms are: greater availability of credit and funds of the European Union, the activities of local authorities for the promotion and development of infrastructure, transparent regulatory framework to facilitate the operation of such facilities, cooperation with tour operators tourist information points.